Mobile transceiver with adaptive monitoring and reporting

ABSTRACT

A method and mobile transceiver with adaptive monitoring are provided. In accordance with one embodiment, there is provided a method of operating a mobile transceiver, comprising: waking up the mobile transceiver from a low power mode in response to a wakeup event; determining a waypoint in a travel itinerary corresponding to the wakeup event, the travel itinerary defining a number of waypoints including an origin endpoint and destination endpoint; and setting one or more subsequent wakeup events based one or a combination of a time of the wakeup event, sensor data at the time of the wakeup event, and the determined waypoint.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/750,396, filed Jan. 23, 2020, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/987,928, filed Jan. 5, 2016, thecontent of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to mobile transceivers, andmore specifically, to a method and mobile transceiver with adaptivemonitoring and reporting.

BACKGROUND

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) tracking devices, such asGlobal positioning system (GPS) tracking devices, are devices carried byobjects or persons (“carriers”) which measure the location of thecarrier using the GNSS at regular intervals and typically store thelocation in internal memory. Examples of types of GNSS tracking devicesinclude: a data logger, a data pusher and a data puller. A data loggermay store the measured location data in internal memory for subsequentdownload and analysis. A data pusher (also known as a beacon) may sendlocation data stored in internal memory to a server or other device inaccordance with predefined parameters. A data puller (also known as atransponder) may store location data in internal memory and provides thelocation data in response to queries from a server or other device. GNSStracking devices may have limited power and/or limited processingresources. Accordingly, methods of efficiently operating and deployingGNSS tracking devices may be desirable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a communication system suitablefor operating a mobile transceiver in accordance with the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile transceiver inaccordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless communicationsubsystem in accordance with an example embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a mobiletransceiver in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of performing data loggingand/or data reporting actions associated with a determined waypoint inaccordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure is made with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which embodiments are shown. However, many differentembodiments may be used, and thus the description should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout, and primenotation is used to indicate similar elements, operations or steps inalternative embodiments. Separate boxes or illustrated separation offunctional elements of illustrated systems and devices does notnecessarily require physical separation of such functions, ascommunication between such elements can occur by way of messaging,function calls, shared memory space, and so on, without any suchphysical separation. As such, functions need not be implemented inphysically or logically separated platforms, although they areillustrated separately for ease of explanation herein. Different devicescan have different designs, such that while some devices implement somefunctions in fixed function hardware, other devices can implement suchfunctions in a programmable processor with code obtained from a machinereadable medium.

The present disclosure provides a mobile transceiver that may allowglobal and long-range tracking applications in which an asset in globaland long-range transit can be tracked even though it crosses wirelesscarrier and network coverage boundaries while in transit. In global andlong-range tracking applications the mobile transceiver and the assetbeing tracked may cross wireless carrier and network coverage boundarieswhile in transit. For example, it is not uncommon for a shippingcontainer to originate in mainland China and travel around South Africawith a final destination in North America.

In accordance with an example embodiment of one aspect of the presentdisclosure, there is provided a method of operating a mobiletransceiver, comprising: waking up the mobile transceiver from a lowpower mode in response to a wakeup event; determining a waypoint in apre-programmed travel itinerary corresponding to the wakeup event, thetravel itinerary being stored in a memory of the mobile transceiver anddefining a number of waypoints along a planned route and a wakeupfrequency for each of the waypoints, wherein each of the waypointsdefine a location, and wherein the waypoints include an origin endpoint,a destination endpoint and intermediate locations between the originendpoint and destination endpoint; and setting one or more subsequentwakeup events based one or a combination of a time of the wakeup event,sensor data at the time of the wakeup event, and the determinedwaypoint.

In accordance with another example embodiment of one aspect of thepresent disclosure, there is provided a method of operating a mobiletransceiver, comprising: waking up the mobile transceiver from a lowpower mode in response to a wakeup event; determining a waypoint in apre-programmed travel itinerary corresponding to the wakeup event, thetravel itinerary being stored in a memory of the mobile transceiver anddefining a number of waypoints along a planned route and a wakeupfrequency for each of the waypoints, wherein each of the waypointsdefine a location, and wherein the waypoints include an origin endpoint,a destination endpoint and intermediate locations between the originendpoint and destination endpoint; performing an action associated withthe wakeup event; and setting one or more time-based wakeup events basedon one or both of the determined waypoint and sensor data at a time ofthe wakeup event.

In accordance with a further example embodiment of one aspect of thepresent disclosure, there is provided a method of operating a mobiletransceiver, comprising: waking up the mobile transceiver from a lowpower mode in response to a wakeup event; determining a waypoint in atravel itinerary corresponding to the wakeup event, the travel itinerarydefining a number of waypoints including an origin endpoint anddestination endpoint; performing an action associated with the wakeupevent; determining a wakeup frequency associated with the determinedwaypoint; and setting a wakeup frequency of one or more subsequentwakeup events in accordance with the determined wakeup frequency.

In accordance with example embodiments of another aspect of the presentdisclosure, there is provided a mobile transceiver, comprising: aprocessor; a memory coupled t the processor; a wireless transceivercoupled to the processor; a satellite receiver coupled to the processor;wherein the mobile transceiver is configured to perform the methodsdescribed above and hereinafter. The mobile transceiver may be a GlobalNavigation Satellite System (GNSS) tracking device.

In accordance with example embodiments of a further aspect of thepresent disclosure, there is provided a non-transitory machine readablemedium having tangibly stored thereon executable instructions that, whenexecuted by a processor of a mobile transceiver, the mobile transceivercomprising a memory, and a wireless transceiver and a satellite receivereach coupled to the processor, wherein the executable instructions causethe mobile transceiver to perform the methods described above andhereinafter.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an example embodiment of a mobiletransceiver 102 of the present disclosure will be described. The mobiletransceiver 102 comprises at least one processor 104 which controls theoverall operation of the mobile transceiver 102. The processor 104 iscoupled to a plurality of components via a communication bus (not shown)which provides a communication path between the components and theprocessor 104. The mobile transceiver 102 also comprises a Random AccessMemory (RAM) 108, Read Only Memory (ROM) 110, a persistent(non-volatile) memory 112 which may be flash erasable programmable readonly memory (EPROM) (“flash memory”) or other suitable form of memory, adata port 122 such as a serial data port (e.g., Universal Serial Bus(USB) data port), and a plurality of environmental sensors 130 forsensing the environment of the mobile transceiver 102. The sensors 130may comprise a light sensor 131, temperature sensor 132, pressure sensor133, humidity sensor 134, gyroscope 135, accelerometer 136, one or moretime-of-flight (ToF) sensors 137 and possibly other sensors such as adoor contact switch (not shown).

The mobile transceiver 102 also comprises a satellite receiver 120 forreceiving satellite signals from a satellite network 180 that comprisesa plurality of satellites which are part of a global or regionalsatellite navigation system. In some embodiments, a satellitetransceiver capable of both receiving and sending satellite signals maybe provided instead of a satellite receiver which can only receivesatellite signals.

The mobile transceiver 102 can use signals received by the satellitereceiver 120 from a plurality of satellites in the satellite network 180to determine its position. In at least some embodiments, the satellitenetwork 180 comprises a plurality of satellites which are part of atleast one Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) that providesautonomous geo-spatial positioning with global coverage. For example,the satellite network 180 may be a constellation of GNSS satellites.Example GNSSs include the United States NAVSTAR Global Positioning

System (GPS) or the Russian GLObal NAvigation Satellite System(GLONASS). Other satellite navigation systems which have been deployedor which are in development include the European Union's Galileopositioning system, China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS),the Indian regional satellite navigation system, and the Japanesesatellite navigation system.

The mobile transceiver 102 also comprises one or more wirelesstransceivers for exchanging at least data communication. The wirelesstransceivers comprises at least a cellular (RF) transceiver 114 forcommunicating with a plurality of different radio access networks (RAN)such as a cellular network 160 using different wireless datacommunication protocols and standards. The mobile transceiver 102 maycommunicate with any one of a plurality of fixed transceiver basestations (one of which is shown in FIG. 1) of the cellular network 160within its geographic coverage area. The mobile transceiver 102 may sendand receive signals over the cellular network 160 after the requirednetwork registration and/or activation procedures have been completed.

The cellular transceiver 114 is a multi-band transceiver that supportsmultiple radio frequency bands which may include, for example, multiple4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or LTE Advanced bands as well as global 3Gand 2G bands such as, for example, a TOBY-L2 series wireless transceiverfrom u-blox Holding AG of Switzerland. Multiple dedicated transceiverscould be provided to support different wireless services, such as 4GLTE, 3G and 2G wireless services in other embodiments.

Examples of technologies that can be used by the cellular transceiver114 include LTE, LTE Advanced, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS),Mobitex™, and Data TAC™. Other example technologies that can be used bythe cellular transceiver 114 include Advanced Mobile Phone System(AMPS), time division multiple access (TDMA), Code Division MultipleAccess (CDMA), Wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), PersonalCommunication Service (PCS), GSM (Global System for MobileCommunication), Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), integrated DigitalEnhanced Network (iDEN), High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSPDA),Evolution-Data Optimized (EvDO), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution(EDGE), etc. Other types of communication networks, both separate andintegrated, may also be utilized with the mobile transceiver 102. Themobile transceiver 102 may also be compliant with other communicationstandards such as 3GSM, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP),Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), 4G, etc. Theabove-noted technologies are used by example and are not exhaustive. Thedescribed embodiments do not depend on any particular characteristics orcapabilities of the RAN.

The wireless transceivers may also comprise a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) transceiver 116 for communicating with a WLAN 150 via aWLAN access point (AP). The WLAN 150 may comprise a Wi-Fi wirelessnetwork which conforms to IEEE 802.11x standards (sometimes referred toas Wi-Fi®). Other communication protocols may be used for the WLAN 104in other embodiments.

The wireless transceivers may also comprise a short-range wirelesstransceiver, such as a Bluetooth® transceiver 118, for communicatingwith a computer 240. The mobile transceiver 102 may alternativelycommunicate with the computer 240 using a physical link such as the dataport 122 (e.g., USB port). The Bluetooth transceiver 118 could becompatible with any suitable version of the Bluetooth protocol includingBluetooth low energy (Bluetooth Smart). Other short-range wirelesscommunication technologies may be provided instead of, or in additionto, Bluetooth® including but not limited to Near field communication(NFC), IEEE 802.15.3a (also referred to as UltraWideband (UWB)), Z-Wave,ZigBee, ANT/ANT+ or infrared (e.g., Infrared Data Association (IrDA)communication).

Data received by the mobile transceiver 102 may be decompressed anddecrypted by a decoder (not shown). The communication subsystem of themobile transceiver 102 also includes one or more antennas, a processorsuch as a digital signal processor (DSP), and local oscillators (LOs).The specific design and implementation of the communication subsystem isdependent upon the wireless communication technologies implemented bythe mobile transceiver 102.

Network access requirements vary depending upon the type of cellularnetwork 160. The mobile transceiver 102 includes a smart card interface140 for receiving a smart card 142 for storing and reading data, such assubscriber identity data, by the processor 104. The smart card 142 maybe a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card for use in a GSM network orother type of smart card for use in the relevant wireless network typewhich provides wireless network access. The smart card 142 may be aUniversal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) containing at least a SIM and aUniversal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) application. UICC is thesmart card technology used in most contemporary GSM and UMTS networks.While a SIM card for a GSM network has been described as an example, theterm smart card is intended to encompass all types of smart cards andother similar technology for providing a USIM, Removable User IdentityModule (R-UIM) or CDMA Subscriber Identity Module (CSIM) or othersimilar technology used in UMTS and CDMA networks.

The mobile transceiver 102 also includes a battery 146 as a powersource. The battery 146 may be a rechargeable or non-rechargeablebattery. The battery 146 provides electrical power to at least some ofthe components of the mobile transceiver 102. A battery interface 144provides a mechanical and electrical connection for the battery 146. Thebattery interface 144 may be coupled to a regulator (not shown) whichprovides power V+ to the circuitry of the mobile transceiver 102. Insome embodiments, the battery 146 is a large-capacity, non-rechargeable,sealed battery which is expected to have a relatively long service life,such as 5-7 years of active service. It will be appreciated that themobile transceiver 102 is intended for uninterrupted operation eventhough one or more components, such as the cellular transceiver 114,satellite receiver 120 and/or sensors 130 may be put into a low powermode periodically to conserve battery life.

An initialization date or similar date when the mobile transceiver 102was first powered on, e.g. when the battery 146 is first installed, maybe used to determine the date and time of the first power up. Due to thedesire for uninterrupted operation, it is contemplated that the mobiletransceiver 102 may lack a power button (on/off button) in someembodiments.

The mobile transceiver 102 may also include a power interface, such as apower port, for connecting to an external power source 152 such as analternating current (AC) power adapter. The mobile transceiver 102 canuse the external power source 152 rather than the battery 146. If thebattery 146 is rechargeable, the external power source 152 may be usedto recharge the battery 146.

Referring again to FIG. 1, an example communication system 100 in whicha mobile transceiver 102 of the present disclosure can operate will bedescribed. The mobile transceiver 102 typically uses the cellularnetwork 160 to access an asset tracking service (or fleet managementserver) 200. The asset tracking service 200 may be implemented as one ormore server modules and is typically located behind a firewall 210. Theasset tracking service 200 provides administrative control andmanagement capabilities over a plurality of managed mobile transceivers102. The asset tracking service 200 may be embodied as a variety ofconfigurations, in hardware or software, including a server-basedsystem, an Application Programming Interface (API) and/or endpoint thatprovides access and abstraction of the functionality of asset trackingserver 200 such that no hardware or configuration information isnecessary to access the functionality other than the API location andfunctional definitions.

The asset tracking service 200 provides secure transmission of dataexchanged between the asset tracking service 200 and the plurality ofmanaged mobile transceivers 102. Communication between the assettracking service 200 and the mobile transceivers 102 may be encrypted,for example, using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) or Triple DataEncryption Standard (Triple DES) encryption.

The mobile transceiver 102 use signals received by the satellitereceiver 120 from a plurality of satellites in the satellite network 180to determine its position. For example, the mobile transceiver 102 mayuse the satellite receiver 120 to determine is location in response toan alarm. An alarm is a configurable wakeup event which causes themobile transceiver 102, or a subsystem of the mobile transceiver 102such as the satellite receiver 120 or one or more sensors 130, to wakeup from a low power mode such as a sleep mode and perform configuredactions (e.g., performs measurements of location and sensors) which arethen logged and/or reported to the asset tracking service 200. The alarmmay be a time-based alarm which the subsystem wakes up at regularintervals in accordance with a predefined schedule among otherpossibilities. The frequency or schedule at which the location isdetermined may be fixed or configurable. The mobile transceiver 102stores the determined location, typically in terms of Latitude andLongitude, and a time at which the location was determined in a data logstored in the memory 112 of the mobile transceiver 102. Thus, the datalog provides an asset tracking log.

As noted above, the mobile transceiver 102 may also use one or more ofthe sensors 130 to sense or measure an environment of the mobiletransceiver 102 in response to an alarm. For example, the sensors 130may be used to measure temperature, pressure and humidity, as well asdoor open or movement events, among other parameters. The sensor dataacquired via the sensors 130 and a time at which the sensor data wasacquired are also stored in the data log (i.e., the asset tracking log),which is stored in the memory 112. As with the location data, the mobiletransceiver 102 may collect sensor data at regular intervals, inaccordance with a predefined schedule, or in response to an alarm. Thefrequency or schedule at which sensor data is acquired may be fixed orconfigurable.

The mobile transceiver 102 attempts to connect to the asset trackingservice 200 to report location and/or sensor data stored in the assettracking log at regular intervals, in accordance with a predefinedschedule, or in response to an alarm. The frequency or schedule at whichthe mobile transceiver 102 attempts to connect to the asset trackingservice 200 may be fixed or configurable. The mobile transceiver 102typically attempts to connect to the asset tracking service 200 using awireless transceiver such as the cellular transceiver 114. The mobiletransceiver 102 has access to multiple wireless services provided bymultiple wireless transceivers, each of which provides access to one ormore wireless services. In the described embodiment, the multiplewireless transceivers comprise the cellular transceiver 114, WLANtransceiver 116, and Bluetooth transceiver 118. The wirelesstransceivers may include multiple cellular transceivers 114 in someembodiments, which may be multi-band cellular transceivers 114. Themobile transceiver 102 could also attempt to connect to the assettracking service 200 using a physical link, either directly orindirectly via the computer 240. Each wireless service supported by themobile transceiver 102 may be defined by a standard or specification.Non-limiting examples of wireless service described elsewhere in thepresent disclosure and include 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE), 3G and 2G,WLAN and Bluetooth.

When the mobile transceiver 102 connects to the cellular network 160,WLAN 150, or computer 240 via Bluetooth and/or USB, the mobiletransceiver 102 can send the data log or a portion of the data log(i.e., an unreported portion of the data log) to the asset trackingservice 200 through the firewall 210 using a communication network 230.The data log information may be sent using any suitable message formatincluding, for example, a proprietary message format. The mobiletransceiver 102 data log typically includes an indicator regarding whichdata in the data log has been reported and which data in the data log isunreported. For example, in some embodiments, the data log comprises aseries of records including and identified by a record identifier (ID).Each record also includes a time at which the record was made, locationdata and/or sensor data, and a report status indicating whether therecord has been reported to the asset tracking service 200. After anunreported record is reported to the asset tracking service 200, itscorresponding report status field in the data log is updated.

The mobile transceiver 102 powers-down certain device components whennot in use to conserve battery power. For example, the mobiletransceiver 102 initiates a low power mode for the cellular transceiver114 after a reporting time/cycle. The low power mode may be an off mode(also known as an off state) in which the cellular transceiver 114 isunpowered or a sleep mode (also known as a standby mode or suspendedoperation mode) with low power consumption. The cellular transceiver 114is then activated from the low power mode at the next reportingtime/cycle. Any other wireless transceivers are similarly placed into alow power mode after a reporting time/cycle. The satellite receiver 120and sensors 130 may also be placed into a low power mode when notobtaining location or sensor data, and then activated from the low powermode at the next measurement time/cycle.

The data logging and data reporting cycles are typically different anddo not coincide, although the cycles may overlap to varying degrees. Forexample, each reporting cycle typically involves reporting severalrecords of the data log each including location data and/or sensor data.The cycles may overlap in that location data and/or sensor data may becaptured as part of a common process at some times or may be captured aspart of a separate process performed just prior to reporting logged datato the asset tracking service 200. For example, a wireless transceivermay be awaken for reporting at the same time, or just after, thesatellite receiver 120 and/or sensors 130 are awaken and location dataand/or sensor data is captured.

The communication system 100 is provided for the purpose of illustrationonly. The communication system 100 is but one possible configuration ofa multitude of possible communication network configurations for usewith the mobile transceiver 102. Suitable variations will be understoodto a person of skill in the art and are intended to fall within thescope of the present disclosure. For example, while individual networkshave been represented for convenience, it will be appreciated thatmultiple networks of each type and intermediate networks connected tothe shown networks may be provided. Also, the communication linksrepresented in FIG. 1 can be implemented using public and/or privatenetworks that can communicate using packet data technologies, such asX.25 or Internet Protocol (IP) based addressing and routing techniques.Some connections can be implemented as secure connections, for example,using Virtual Private Network (VPN) technologies.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a wireless communication subsystem 300 inaccordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure will bedescribed. The wireless communication subsystem 300 includes a digitalbaseband processor 304 which manages functions that require an antenna,and a plurality of wireless transceivers and/or receivers 306,represented individually by references 306 a, 306 b, . . . 306 n. Eachof the wireless transceivers/receivers 306 is coupled to a switch 308,represented individually by references 308 a, 308 b, . . . 308 n, whichis coupled to an internal antenna 310, represented individually byreferences 310 a, 310 b, . . . 310 n, and an external antenna 312,represented individually by references 312 a, 312 b, . . . 312 n. Theexternal antennas 312 typically serve as the primary antennas because ofthe reduced RF interference associated with being located outside of theshipping container 400, whereas the internal antennas 310 typicallyserve as secondary antennas because of the increased RF interferenceassociated with being located inside of the shipping container 400.

It at least some embodiments, the external antennas 312 are provided ina common external antenna module, and a ground pin of the externalantenna module is connected to a general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pinof the processor 104 which can be monitored, for example, when themobile transceiver 102 wakes up. When the ground pin of the externalantenna module is not detected, this is an indication that the externalantenna module is disconnected, an electronic malfunction has occurredin the external antenna module, or the external antenna 312 and/or theexternal housing module 504 has been otherwise damaged or tampered with.In other embodiments, a ground pin of each external antenna 312 may beindividually connected to a GPIO pin of the processor 104.

As noted above, the wireless transceivers/receivers 306 include at leastone cellular transceiver 114 such as a multi-band cellular transceiverthat supports multiple radio frequency bands which may include, forexample, multiple 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or LTE Advanced bands aswell as global 3G and 2G bands and at least one satellite receiver 120.

While a common baseband processor 304 for the cellular transceiver 114and satellite receiver 120 has been described, in other embodiments aseparate baseband processor could be provided for the satellite receiver120 and the cellular transceiver 114. In the wireless communicationsubsystem 300, the cellular transceiver 114 and satellite receiver 120are individually switched and capable of operating independently.Consequently, the satellite receiver 120 can use an external antenna 312while the cellular transceiver 114 uses an internal antenna 310, or viceversa, the satellite receiver 120 and the cellular transceiver 114 canboth use an external antennas 312, or the satellite receiver 120 and thecellular transceiver 114 can both use an internal antennas 30. Thebaseband processor 304, or main processor 104, selects either theinternal antenna 310 or external antenna 312 for the satellite receiver120 and the cellular transceiver 114 depending on factors such as signalquality and ancillary information from the sensors 130. Each of thewireless transceivers/receivers 306 (e.g., the satellite receiver 120and the cellular transceiver 114) may also be separately powered-on,powered-off or placed into a sleep mode.

While not shown, each of the wireless transceivers/receivers 306 has anRF front end circuit (also known as a transceiver module/receivermodule) which generally includes all components between the antennas andthe digital baseband processor 304. For example, the RF front endcircuit of a cellular transceiver includes a receiver, a transmitter,and local oscillators (LOs). The receiver performs common receiverfunctions as signal amplification, frequency down conversion, filtering,channel selection, etc., as well as analog-to-digital conversion (ADC).The ADC of a received signal allows more complex communication functionssuch as demodulation and decoding to be performed by the digitalbaseband processor 304. In a similar manner, signals to be transmittedare processed, including modulation and encoding, for example, by thedigital baseband processor 304. The processed signals are input to thetransmitter for digital-to-analog conversion (DAC), frequency upconversion, filtering, amplification, and transmission via the antennas.A receiver, lacking transmitting functions, typically omits componentsrequired for receiving.

The mobile transceiver 102 is intended to be attached to, orincorporated in, a moveable asset to track its location using asatellite receiver 120 as well as sensing or measuring other conditions,such as temperature, humidity, general operating conditions, averagespeed, maximum speed, content status, door open or closed condition,etc. using the sensors 130. The asset tracked by the mobile transceiver102 may be a shipping container, truck, rail car, automobile, etc.Tracking requirements for tracking assets may vary depending on the modeof transportation (e.g., ship, rail, car, and possibly air). Forexample, if the mobile transceiver 102 is attached to an asset that isbeing moved by rail, the logging and/or reporting may be at longerintervals than if the asset was being moved by truck through townstreets. Also, different sensors 130 may be monitored depending on themode of transportation. For example, there may be no need to check fordoor open or close status while mobile transceiver 102 is being moved byship.

The mobile transceiver 102 has a device configuration which definesalarms (e.g., wakeup or trigger events) which wake up the mobiletransceiver 102 from an inactive mode (e.g., sleep mode) to determinethe device status, including location and/or environmental conditions ata particular time, and report the device status to the asset trackingservice 200. The alarms events may be scheduled events, for examplebased on a time of day or frequency, or unscheduled events whichasynchronously wake up the mobile transceiver 102 to report the devicestatus. The mobile transceiver 102 is in a sleep mode much of the timeto conserve power and wakes up in response to alarms. For example, themobile transceiver 102 may wake up only at predetermined time intervalsor due to detections or measurements by the sensors 130. When the mobiletransceiver 102 wakes up from sleep mode, the mobile transceiver 102typically determines its location using the satellite receiver 120and/or measures one or more environmental conditions using one or moreof the sensors 130, stores the measured data in a data log in memory112, and then reports the device status to the asset tracking service200, for example, by sending at least a portion of a data log to theasset tracking service 200 over the Internet via the cellulartransceiver 114. For example, the mobile transceiver 102 may wake upevery hour to determine and report the device status, or the mobiletransceiver 102 may wake up when a door of the shipping container towhich it is attached is opened. When the mobile transceiver 102 wakesup, the mobile transceiver 102 may determine the reason for the alarm.The mobile transceiver 102 may then determine its location using thesatellite receiver 120 and/or measure one or more environmentalconditions based on the alarm type. The mobile transceiver 102 may thentransmit the measured data to the asset tracking service 200. The mobiletransceiver 102 then goes back to into the sleep mode until it wakes upin response to another alarm.

Each alarm is defined by a number of parameters that includes anidentifier (ID) such as a unique number to identify the alarm, an alarmtype that identifies a type of the alarm, one or more conditionparameters to be satisfied for the alarm to be triggered, and one ormore actions to take when the alarm is triggered. The alarm types aretypically based on either time or sensor data. There are two sub-typesof time-based alarms. The first type of timed based alarm is frequencywhich specifies a frequency at which data is to be measured, thecondition parameters for the alarm checked and reported to the assettracking service 200. An example value for the frequency alarm is every15 minutes. The second type of time based alarm is time (or date) whichspecifies a time and/or date at which the condition parameters for thealarm are checked. An example value for the frequency alarm is 12:00 PMevery day. The sensor-based alarms are defined based on the capabilitiesof the mobile transceiver 102, i.e. the onboard sensors 130. Thesensor-based alarms may include temperature, humidity, pressure,movement detection, location, location within or with respect to aspecific geo-fence, door open or closed condition, etc. The alarm typesmay also be based on other factors such as location or location history.A geo-fence is a virtual perimeter defined by a particular geographicarea using geo-spatial coordinates, such as Latitude and Longitude, usedby the satellite receiver 120. A geo-fence may be fixed or dynamicallygenerated, for example, a radius around a particular point location. Thegeo-fence may be a predefined set of boundaries, or may be a set ofzones or areas which need not be adjacent. The alarm actions may includethe type of sensor data to measure and transmit to the asset trackingservice 200 and possibly other things like running diagnostics, changingdevice state, location data, etc.

Method of Dynamic Adaptive Monitoring and Reporting

In tracking applications, such as global and long-range trackingapplications, the asset being tracked may travel along well-establishedlong-distance routes over land, water and possibly air. For example,with North America it is not uncommon for a truck to originate in Mexicoand travel through the USA to

Canada. Similarly, a shipping container may originate in mainland Chinaand travel around South Africa with a final destination in NorthAmerica.

A travel itinerary for the asset being tracked and the mobiletransceiver 102 is provided by a user, such as a shipping company, whoknows the intended route. The travel itinerary defines a number ofwaypoints including at least an origin endpoint, destination endpoint,and possibly intermediate waypoints along the intended route. Eachwaypoint corresponds to a location or geographical area along theintended route. The travel itinerary may be entered or otherwiseprovided to the asset tracking service 200 by the user. To improve powerand processing resource conservation, the asset tracking service 200determines and pre-programs one or more wakeup events in which themobile transceiver 102 powers-up from a low power mode after a period ofinactivity according to waypoints defined by the travel itinerary. Thewakeup events may be time-based to regularly wakeup the mobiletransceiver 102 at predetermined intervals and/or predeterminedfrequencies at which the mobile transceiver 102 may determine itslocation and/or senses environmental conditions using the sensors 130and optionally report location and/or sensor data to the asset trackingservice 200. The travel itinerary also includes a wakeup frequency andoptionally a type of environment and/or a location technology to be usedfor determining location. An example travel itinerary is provided belowin Table 1.

TABLE 1 Example travel itinerary Location Wakeup Event WaypointEnvironment Technology frequency 1 Origin Suburban GNSS/Wi-Fi Mediumfrequency . . . In transit Rural GNSS only Low frequency n-1 In transitRural GNSS only Low frequency N Destination Urban GNSS/Wi-Fi/CellularHigh frequency

Table 1: Example travel itinerary

In the example travel itinerary in Table 1, the travel itineraryincludes a number of wakeup events each including a number of parametersincluding, a wakeup event identifier or descriptor, a waypointdescriptor, an environment, a location technology, and a wakeupfrequency. While not shown in Table 1, the travel itinerary may alsoinclude, for example, an expected time at the various waypoints based ona mode of transportation in other embodiments.

Depending on the embodiment, the wakeup frequency may be a reportingfrequency, a measuring (or acquisition) frequency, or both.Alternatively, a distinct reporting frequency and measuring frequencymay be defined. A reporting frequency specifies a frequency of reportinglocation and/or sensor data acquired by the mobile transceiver 102. Ameasuring frequency specifies a frequency at which location and/orsensor data is acquired. In order words, the reporting frequency is afrequency at which data reporting events are performed and the measuringfrequency is a frequency at which data logging events, such as locationfixes and/or sensor data acquisitions, are performed. Further, it willbe appreciated that the frequency at which location fixes are performed(i.e., when location data is acquired) and the frequency at which sensordata is acquired from the sensors may be different. Similarly, each ofthe sensors 130 may have its own measuring frequency or none at all.Furthermore, the travel itinerary may specify the available wirelesscoverage for the waypoint and/or particular geographic location and/or apreferred wireless carrier in other embodiments.

The travel itinerary is provided to the mobile transceiver 102 by theasset tracking service 200. For example, the travel itinerary may bedownloaded onto the mobile transceiver 102 from the asset trackingservice 200 at or before the beginning of a trip. The asset trackingservice 200 also sends instructions/command to the mobile transceiver102 which configure time-based wakeup events on the mobile transceiver102 which wake up the mobile transceiver 102 from a low power mode atpredetermined times and/or predetermined frequencies. If there is nowireless (cellular) coverage while in transit, the mobile transceiver102 may be configured not to activate the cellular transceiver 114,thereby conserving computing and power resources. In a long-rangeapplication in which the mobile transceiver 102 may be out of wirelesscoverage for an extended period of time, one or more pre-programmedwakeup events at intervals along the route may also be provided for datalogging only using other means such as, for example, the satellitereceiver 120 to obtain a location fix and/or sensors 130 to obtainenvironmental data.

The waypoint descriptors indicate a name or description of the waypoint.The shown waypoint descriptors are Origin, In Transit, and Destinationin the shown example. However, more detailed waypoints and waypointdescriptors may be provided in other embodiments including, for example,“Rail”, “Ship”, “Street”, “Dock”, “Home”, “Warehouse”, “DistributionCentre”, “Outside”, “Inside”, or the particular geographic location.Alternatively, the particular geographic location for each waypoint maybe provided in addition to, and separate from, the waypoint descriptor.The particular geographic location may be a city name, country or region(e.g. Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), NorthAmerica, South America, etc.).

The environment parameter indicates a type of environment. In the shownexample, the type of environment is one of urban, suburban or rural. Theenvironment types of urban, suburban and rural represent high-density,medium-density and low-density areas, respectively. In otherembodiments, the type of environment may be one of high-density,medium-density or low-density, in which density reflects populationand/or physical infrastructure (e.g., roads, buildings). Otherenvironment types may be used in other embodiments.

The location technology parameter indicates a type of locationdetermining technology to be used for determining the location of themobile transceiver 102. The location technology may be GNSS such as GPS(e.g., using the satellite receiver 120) only, GNSS augmented by one ormore alternate location technologies, or alternate location technologyonly as an alternative to GNSS. Alternate location technologies areuseful in locations in which GNSS may be inadequate such due to issuesincluding multipath effects in which radio signals reflect offsurroundings such as buildings, canyon walls, hard ground, etc. andindoor signal blockage, among other potential causes. Thus, alternatelocation technologies may include indoor positioning systems. Alternatelocation technologies may include one or more of a cellular positioningsystem or a Wi-Fi-based positioning system (WFPS), among otherpossibilities. The cellular positioning system typically performslocalization using multilateration, trilateration, or triangulation ofradio signals between several radio towers of the RAN.

WFPS localization techniques include received signal strength indication(“RSSI”) localization techniques, RSSI fingerprinting techniques,Angle-of-Arrival (AoA) based techniques, and ToF-based techniques. EachWi-Fi access point is identified using the service set identifier (SSID)and media access control address (MAC address) of the Wi-Fi accesspoint. With RSSI location techniques, RSSI from the mobile transceiver102 to several different Wi-Fi access points are measured and apropagation model is used to determine the distance between the mobiletransceiver 102 and the different Wi-Fi access points, for example,using multilateration, trilateration, or triangulation techniques. InRSSI fingerprinting techniques, a database of RSSI measurements fromseveral different Wi-Fi access points along with the coordinates of themobile transceiver 102 are used. With AoA based techniques, using Wi-Fiaccess points having multiple antennas and multiple-input andmultiple-output (MIMO) Wi-Fi interfaces, the AoA of the multipathsignals received at the antenna arrays in the Wi-Fi access points can beestimated. From this estimate, triangulation techniques can be used tocalculate the location of the mobile transceiver 102. With ToF-basedtechniques use timestamps provided by the wireless interfaces of themobile transceiver 102 and Wi-Fi access points to calculate the ToF ofsignals and then use this information to estimate the distance andrelative position of the mobile transceiver 102 with respect to theWi-Fi access points.

The wakeup frequency is shown in Table 1 as being one of low frequency,medium frequency or high frequency. While three different reportingfrequencies are described, a greater or fewer number of reportingfrequencies may be provided in other embodiments. In addition, thedescribed reporting frequencies are qualitative and the mobiletransceiver 102 may include a mapping between these qualitativereporting frequencies and quantitative reporting frequencies, such as aninternal specified in minutes. Alternatively, the reporting frequenciesmay be specified in quantitative terms in other embodiments, e.g., 5minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes or 30 minutes.

While the travel itinerary has being described has including certaindata items and having a certain data structure, the present disclosureis not intended to be limited to the described data structure. Any datastructure in which the described data items are provided and associatedwith each other may be used, whether those data items are stored in atravel itinerary or elsewhere.

The mobile transceiver 102 may change the frequency based on the presentwaypoint or next waypoint. For example, the mobile transceiver 102 maychange the wakeup frequency when it approaches the destination endpointspecified in the travel itinerary. In some embodiments, the mobiletransceiver 102 may increase reporting frequency when it approaches thedestination endpoint to provide a more accurate estimated time ofarrival to the asset tracking service 200. The increase may occur at aparticular waypoint prior to the destination endpoint or a predeterminednumber of waypoints prior to the destination endpoint, among otherpossibilities. The increase may be performed periodically andprogressively as the mobile transceiver 102 approaches the destinationendpoint. For example, after the increase has commenced, the wakeupfrequency may increase after each waypoint or after a particular numberof waypoints (e.g., every 2 or 3 waypoints).

For another example, the mobile transceiver 102 may change the wakeupfrequency based on the type of environment being traversed. In someembodiments, the mobile transceiver 102 may increase the wakeupfrequency when the mobile transceiver 102 is in higher-density areas toprovide a finer granularity in position when the mobile transceiver 102is in densely populated areas, such as urban areas. A low frequency(e.g., 30 minutes) may be used in low-density areas (e.g., rural areas),a medium frequency (e.g., 10-15 minutes) may be used in medium-densityareas (e.g., suburban areas) and a high frequency (e.g., 1-5 minutes)may be used in high-density areas.

The mobile transceiver 102 may change the frequency based on a distanceof the mobile transceiver 102 from the associated waypoint and/or adistance from the intended route. For example, the frequency mayincrease when the mobile transceiver 102 is determined to be more than athreshold distance from the associated waypoint and/or intended route(after a location fix has been obtained). The increase may beprogressive based on the determined distance from the associatedwaypoint and/or intended route. For example, the frequency may increasein stepped fashion based on the threshold distance. Conversely, thefrequency may decrease when the mobile transceiver 102 is determined tobe less than a threshold distance from the associated waypoint and/orintended route, for example, when the frequency was previously increasedwhen the mobile transceiver 102 is determined to be more than athreshold distance from the associated waypoint and/or intended route.The decrease may be progressive based on the determined distance fromthe associated waypoint and/or intended route. For example, thefrequency may decrease in stepped fashion based on the thresholddistance. In other embodiments, the frequency may be dependent on,possibly proportional to, a distance of the mobile transceiver 102 fromthe associated waypoint and/or a distance from the intended route. Thewakeup frequency of the one or more subsequent wakeup events may bedecreased or increase based on a distance from the determined waypointand/or an intended route.

The mobile transceiver 102 may group a series of data acquisitions(e.g., location fixes and/or sensor data) for reporting to the assettracking service 200 at a later time. For example, location fixes may beacquired at five minute intervals but may be reported together atfifteen minute intervals. The group of data acquisitions may occurinstead, or in addition to, changing the reporting frequency.Conversely, to increase accuracy as the mobile transceiver 102approaches a densely populated area, a fifteen minute reporting intervalmay be increased to change to three location fixes at five-minuteintervals.

The mobile transceiver 102 may change the measuring frequency based onthe present waypoint or next waypoint in a similar manner to howreporting frequency is changed. In some embodiments, the measuringfrequency may be increased in response to one of the triggers describedabove (e.g., change in environment type, change in distance fromassociated waypoint and/or intended route, etc.) while the reportingfrequency remains unchanged as described above.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method 400 of operating a mobiletransceiver 102 such as a GNSS tracking device in accordance with oneexample embodiment of the present disclosure. The method may be carriedout by software executed by a processor of the mobile transceiver 102.Coding of software for carrying out such a method 400 is within thescope of a person of ordinary skill in the art provided the presentdisclosure. The method 400 may contain additional or fewer processesthan shown and/or described, and may be performed in a different orderin other embodiments. Machine readable code executable by the processorto perform the method 400 may be stored in a machine readable mediumsuch as a memory of the mobile transceiver 102.

At 402, the mobile transceiver 102 wakes up from a low power mode aftera period of inactivity. For example, the mobile transceiver 102 may wakeup from a sleep mode in response to a wakeup event (also describedherein as an alarm).

At 404, the mobile transceiver 102 determines whether the wakeup eventcorresponds to a time-based wakeup event. When the wakeup event does notcorrespond to a time-based wakeup event, the wakeup event corresponds toa sensor-based alarm and the operations proceed to 414 at which themobile transceiver 102 performs one or more actions associated with thesensor-based wakeup event. The one or more actions may comprise datalogging, data reporting or both depending on the embodiment. Datalogging comprises acquiring location data and/or sensor data via one ormore sensors, storing the acquired location data and/or sensor data in adata log in a memory of the mobile transceiver 102. Data reportingcomprises sending at least a portion of the data log to the assettracking service 200. Data reporting is typically performed after datalogging. However, data reporting may consist of sending at least aportion of the data log to the asset tracking service 200 withoutperforming data logging or acquisition prior to the reporting.

In some embodiments, the wakeup event may be a data logging event inwhich location and/or sensor data is acquired and stored in a data login a memory of the mobile transceiver 102 but not reported or a datareporting event in which at least a portion of the data log is reportedto the asset tracking service 200. Data reporting events are typicallyperformed after data logging events.

When the wakeup event corresponds to a time-based wakeup event, theoperations proceed to 406 at which the mobile transceiver 102 determinesa waypoint in the travel itinerary corresponding to the wakeup event.The waypoint may be determined by correlating the pre-programmed wakeupevent to a waypoint in the travel itinerary. Each wakeup event may beidentified by a wakeup event ID or a time at which the wakeup eventoccurred, among other possibilities.

At 407, the mobile transceiver 102 performs one or more actionsassociated with the time-based wakeup event. As with the actions ofsensor-based alarms, the one or more actions comprise data logging, datareporting or both.

When the one or more actions comprise determining a location of themobile transceiver 102, in some embodiments the mobile transceiver 102may determine one or more location technologies associated with thewaypoint corresponding to the wakeup event, and then determine thelocation of the mobile transceiver 102 using the determined one or morelocation technologies associated with the waypoint. The locationtechnologies are one of GNSS only, GNSS augmented with alternatelocation technologies, or alternate location technologies only. Thealternate location technologies include one or more of a cellularpositioning system or a Wi-Fi-based positioning system. In someembodiments, the alternate location technologies may be used wheneveralternate location technologies is available, for example, to eitheraugment GNSS or provide location services when GNSS is not available(for example, because the asset is indoors or the satellite signal isblocked).

At 408, the mobile transceiver 102 determines a wakeup frequencyassociated with the determined waypoint.

In some embodiments, the mobile transceiver 102 determines whether thedetermined waypoint is within a threshold of the destination endpoint,and increases the wakeup frequency of the one or more subsequent wakeupevents when the determined waypoint is determined to be within athreshold of the destination endpoint. The wakeup frequency of the oneor more subsequent wakeup events may be periodically increased after thedetermined waypoint is determined to be within a threshold of thedestination endpoint, as described above.

In some embodiments, the wakeup frequency of the one or more subsequentwakeup events is increased when the determined waypoint is associatedwith an environment having a higher density than a previous waypoint.Conversely, the wakeup frequency of the one or more subsequent wakeupevents is decreased when the determined waypoint is associated with anenvironment having a lower density than a previous waypoint.

In some embodiments, the wakeup frequency of the one or more subsequentwakeup events is a high frequency when the determined waypoint isassociated with a high-density environment, a medium frequency when thedetermined waypoint is associated with a medium-density environment, anda low frequency when the determined waypoint is associated with alow-density environment. In other embodiments, the wakeup frequency ofthe one or more subsequent wakeup events is a high frequency when thedetermined waypoint is associated with an urban environment, a mediumfrequency when the determined waypoint is associated with a suburbanenvironment, and a low frequency when the determined waypoint isassociated with a rural environment.

The wakeup event may be a reporting frequency or a measuring frequencyin embodiments in which the wakeup event may be a data logging event ora data reporting event. A measuring frequency is a frequency at whichdata logging events are performed. A reporting frequency is a frequencyat which the data logging events are performed. When distinct datalogging events and data reporting events are performed, determining thefrequency associated with the determined waypoint comprises determininga measuring frequency and a reporting frequency associated with thedetermined waypoint. In some embodiments, the measuring frequency may begreater than the reporting frequency so that multiple data loggingevents are reported in each data reporting event. For example, thereporting frequency may be a multiple (e.g., integer) of the measuringfrequency so that multiple data logging events are reported in each datareporting event. In some embodiments, when distinct data logging eventsand data reporting events are performed, the measuring frequency may beincreased while the reporting frequency is unchanged.

At 410, the mobile transceiver 102 sets the wakeup frequency of one ormore subsequent wakeup events (such as a next wakeup event) inaccordance with the determined wakeup frequency. When distinct datalogging events and data reporting events are performed, the frequency ofdata logging events is set in accordance with a determined measuringfrequency associated with the determined waypoint, and the frequency ofdata reporting events is set in accordance with a determined reportingfrequency associated with the determined waypoint.

At 412, the mobile transceiver 102 initializes a low power mode untilthe next wakeup event/alarm (e.g., data logging and/or data reportingevent). The low power mode may affect the processor 104, cellulartransceiver 114, satellite receiver 120 and sensors 130 until the nextalarm (e.g., logging and/or reporting cycle). In addition to thecellular transceiver 114 and/or satellite receiver 120, one or both ofthe processor 104 and sensors 130 may enter a low power mode.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method 500 of performing datalogging and/or data reporting actions associated with a determinedwaypoint in accordance with one example embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The method 500 may be carried out by software executed by aprocessor of the mobile transceiver 102. Coding of software for carryingout such a method 500 is within the scope of a person of ordinary skillin the art provided the present disclosure. The method 500 may containadditional or fewer processes than shown and/or described, and may beperformed in a different order in other embodiments. Machine readablecode executable by the processor to perform the method 500 may be storedin a machine readable medium such as a memory of the mobile transceiver102.

The method 500 includes both data logging actions represented byreference 530 and data reporting actions represented by reference 550.In other embodiments, only one of the data logging actions 530 or datareporting actions 550 may be performed.

At 502, the mobile transceiver 102 determines its location. The locationmay be determined by the satellite receiver 120, an alternate locationtechnology described above, or the satellite receiver 120 augmented byone or more alternate location technologies depending on the embodimentand/or whether an alternate location technology is available at theparticular waypoint. The mobile transceiver 102 may select the locationtechnology to use based on the available location technology at theparticular waypoint and the capabilities of the mobile transceiver 102.The mobile transceiver 102 may also store the available alternatelocation technology along the route in association with the respectivewaypoints for subsequent use in selecting the location technology to beused in determining its location. The determined location and a timeassociated with the determined location are stored in the data log inthe memory of the mobile transceiver 102.

At 504, the mobile transceiver 102 senses, via one or more sensors 130,an environment of the mobile transceiver 120. The sensor data acquiredvia the one or more sensors and a time at which the sensor data wasacquired is stored in the data log in the memory of the mobiletransceiver 102.

At 506, the mobile transceiver 102 activates the cellular transceiver114 from a low power mode.

At 508, the cellular transceiver 114 searches for wireless services. Thecellular transceiver 114 may search for an available wireless signalbased on a preferred wireless carrier from a list of available carriersor a list of supported wireless services. For example, when the wirelesstransceivers comprises a multi-band cellular transceiver 114 supporting4G LTE, 3G and 2G is carried by the mobile transceiver 102, the cellulartransceiver 114 may search (e.g., scans) for cellular data services suchas 4G LTE, 3G and 2G.

At 510, the mobile transceiver 102 determines whether wireless servicesare available based on whether any response to the scans are received,for example, from base stations or nodes in a cellular network 160. Whena wireless service is not available, operations end.

When a wireless service is available, operations proceed to 512 at whichthe mobile transceiver 102 accesses, or connects to, a wireless servicefrom the available wireless services.

At 514, the mobile transceiver 102 reports, via the cellulartransceiver, measured and/or logged data to the asset tracking service200. The data may include a determined location and/or sensed dataacquired via the one or more sensors 130, depending on the embodiment.In embodiments in which the data reporting follows data logging, themobile transceiver 102 sends at least a portion of the data log to theasset tracking service 200 using the wireless service. The data logincludes a plurality of determined locations and associated times atwhich the locations were determined and/or a plurality of sensor dataacquisitions and associated times at which the sensor data was acquired.

The above-described methods provide global and long-range trackingmethods that dynamically adapts location and/or sensor monitoring andreporting based on the geographic area in which the mobile transceiver102 is located. The above-described methods are particularlyadvantageous when the mobile transceiver 102 is provided with anon-rechargeable battery. Conventionally, a tracking device powers upregularly at a pre-determined interval, to acquire a GPS location fix,and report location. The above-described methods obviate the need torepeatedly power up the satellite receiver along a well-establishedlong-distance route only to yield lat/long coordinates with littlevariance from the route, thereby avoiding many large current-drainpenalties which would otherwise significantly degrade the expected lifeof the battery. The above-described methods also adapt to theenvironment in which the mobile transceiver 102 is located by performingdata logging (e.g. location fixes) and data reporting less frequently inrural or low-density environments and by performing data logging anddata reporting more frequently in urban or high-density environments.The above-described methods also increase data logging and datareporting frequency as it approaches its destination, where a moreaccurate estimated time of arrival is desired.

The steps and/or operations in the flowcharts and drawings describedherein are for purposes of example only. There may be many variations tothese steps and/or operations without departing from the teachings ofthe present disclosure. For instance, the steps may be performed in adiffering order, or steps may be added, deleted, or modified.

While the present disclosure is described, at least in part, in terms ofmethods, a person of ordinary skill in the art will understand that thepresent disclosure is also directed to the various components forperforming at least some of the aspects and features of the describedmethods, be it by way of hardware components, software or anycombination of the two, or in any other manner. Moreover, the presentdisclosure is also directed to a pre-recorded storage device or othersimilar machine readable medium including program instructions storedthereon for performing the methods described herein.

The present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from the subject matter of the claims. The described exampleembodiments are to be considered in all respects as being onlyillustrative and not restrictive. The present disclosure intends tocover and embrace all suitable changes in technology. The scope of thepresent disclosure is, therefore, described by the appended claimsrather than by the foregoing description. The scope of the claims shouldnot be limited by the embodiments set forth in the examples, but shouldbe given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description asa whole.

1. A method of operating a mobile transceiver, comprising: waking up themobile transceiver from a low power mode in response to a wakeup event;determining a waypoint in a pre-programmed travel itinerarycorresponding to the wakeup event, the travel itinerary being stored ina memory of the mobile transceiver and defining a number of waypointsalong a planned route and a wakeup frequency for each of the waypoints,wherein each of the waypoints define a location, and wherein thewaypoints include an origin endpoint, a destination endpoint andintermediate locations between the origin endpoint and destinationendpoint; and setting one or more subsequent wakeup events based one ora combination of a time of the wakeup event, sensor data at the time ofthe wakeup event, and the determined waypoint.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the waypoint in the pre-programmed travel itinerarycorresponding to the wakeup event is determined in accordance with alocation of the mobile transceiver at the time of the wakeup event. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the waypoint in the pre-programmed travelitinerary corresponding to the wakeup event is determined in accordancewith the time of the wakeup event.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thesubsequent one or more wakeup events are set based on a wakeup frequencydefined by the travel itinerary for the determined waypoint.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, wherein the wakeup frequency is higher when thedetermined waypoint is within a threshold distance of the destinationendpoint.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the wakeup frequencyperiodically increases after the determined waypoint is determined to bewithin a threshold distance of the destination endpoint.
 7. The methodof claim 4, wherein the wakeup frequency increases when the mobiletransceiver is determined to be more than a threshold distance from thedetermined waypoint and/or the planned route.
 8. The method of claim 4,wherein the wakeup frequency increases when the determined waypoint isassociated with an environment having a higher density than a previouswaypoint.
 9. The method of claim 4, wherein the wakeup frequencydecreases when the determined waypoint is associated with an environmenthaving a lower density than a previous waypoint.
 10. The method of claim4, wherein the wakeup frequency is a high frequency when the determinedwaypoint is associated with a high-density environment, a mediumfrequency when the determined waypoint is associated with amedium-density environment, and a low frequency when the determinedwaypoint is associated with a low-density environment.
 11. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the wakeup frequency is a high frequency when thedetermined waypoint is associated with an urban environment, a mediumfrequency when the determined waypoint is associated with a suburbanenvironment, and a low frequency when the determined waypoint isassociated with a rural environment.
 12. The method of claim 1, whereinat least some of the one or more subsequent wakeup events are datalogging events in which location and/or sensor data is acquired andstored in a data log in a memory of the mobile transceiver but notreported, and at least some of the one or more subsequent wakeup eventsare data reporting events in which at least a portion of the data log isreported to an asset tracking service, wherein the data logging eventshave a measuring frequency at which the data logging events areperformed, and the data reporting events have a reporting frequency atwhich the data logging events are reported, wherein determining afrequency associated with the determined waypoint comprising determininga measuring frequency and a reporting frequency associated with thedetermined waypoint, wherein the frequency of data logging events is setin accordance with a determined measuring frequency associated with thedetermined waypoint, and wherein the frequency of data reporting eventsis set in accordance with a determined reporting frequency associatedwith the determined waypoint.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein themeasuring frequency is increased in response to a trigger while thereporting frequency remains unchanged.
 14. The method of claim 12,wherein the measuring frequency is greater than the reporting frequencyso that multiple data logging events are reported in each data reportingevent.
 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising: performing anaction associated with the wakeup event.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein the action comprises determining a location of the mobiletransceiver.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the location of themobile transceiver is determined using one or more location technologiesassociated with the waypoint, wherein the location technologies are oneof GNSS only, GNSS augmented with alternate location technologies, oralternate location technologies only, wherein the alternate locationtechnologies include one or more of a cellular positioning system or aWi-Fi-based positioning system (WFPS).
 18. The method of claim 15,wherein the action comprises one or both of data logging and datareporting.
 19. A mobile transceiver, comprising: a processor; a memorycoupled to the processor; a satellite receiver coupled to the processor;and a cellular transceiver coupled to the processor; wherein the mobiletransceiver is configured for: waking up the mobile transceiver from alow power mode in response to a wakeup event; determining a waypoint ina pre-programmed travel itinerary corresponding to the wakeup event, thetravel itinerary being stored in a memory of the mobile transceiver anddefining a number of waypoints along a planned route and a wakeupfrequency for each of the waypoints, wherein each of the waypointsdefine a location, and wherein the waypoints include an origin endpoint,a destination endpoint and intermediate locations between the originendpoint and destination endpoint; and setting one or more subsequentwakeup events based one or a combination of a time of the wakeup event,sensor data at the time of the wakeup event, and the determinedwaypoint.
 20. A non-transitory machine readable medium having tangiblystored thereon executable instructions that, when executed by aprocessor of a mobile transceiver, the mobile transceiver comprising aprocessor, a memory, a satellite receiver, and at least one wirelesstransceiver, cause the mobile transceiver to: wake up the mobiletransceiver from a low power mode in response to a wakeup event;determine a waypoint in a pre-programmed travel itinerary correspondingto the wakeup event, the travel itinerary being stored in a memory ofthe mobile transceiver and defining a number of waypoints along aplanned route and a wakeup frequency for each of the waypoints, whereineach of the waypoints define a location, and wherein the waypointsinclude an origin endpoint, and a destination endpoint and intermediatelocations between the origin endpoint and destination endpoint; and setone or more subsequent wakeup events based one or a combination of atime of the wakeup event, sensor data at the time of the wakeup event,and the determined waypoint.